The Missing Hokage Challenge  Diverging Paths
by eRhino
Summary: "Oi, Granny Tsunade, what's going on? Why are we leaving Konoha? What's with all the bags and scrolls?" Shizune answered him, "Because, Naruto, you've been banished." Post Sasuke Retrieval arc AU
1. Chapter 1

_**The Missing Hokage – Diverging Paths**_

Naruto had been beaten; his body simply had no more fight left to give. The spray from the waterfall had started to re-soak his bright orange clothes.

Sasuke bent over to look his rival in the eye one last time before throwing his scratched forehead protector on the ground. "I'm sorry." He ruffled the blonde's hair. "But avenging my clan comes before everything else. Even Team Seven."

"Sas-uke."

"Later, Loser." Sasuke muttered before he turned and began to walk away.

A slight breeze ruffled his bangs and blew them into his eyes. His blue shirt fluttered ominously. The slight hiss of something flying at high speeds through the air made him duck instinctively, he wasn't a second too soon as the next instant a sand shuriken had blasted off an entire chunk of rock from the cliff face, showering the immediate area in dust.

When the dust cleared he could see a stone-faced Gaara staring impassively down at him from the top of the waterfall. His teal colored eyes reflecting no emotion while his robes billowed.

There was no warning before someone punched Sasuke in the face, sending him skipping across the surface of the river to crash into the opposite wall of the valley. Standing on the water glaring at him was Rock Lee.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan once again, but his weakened body could do nothing to avoid the wave of sand that encased him from all sides.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura was waiting for her team to return at the village's main gates with bated breath. Ino had already left for the hospital to make sure Chouji was going to live. The worry on her friend's face for her teammate made Sakura fear for Sasuke even more. Naruto's well being didn't really occur to her, and when she realized this she felt more than a little guilty. But feelings of guilt were quickly drowned by anxiousness; it had been more than two days! When was Sasuke coming home to her?

As if summoned by her thoughts, Rock Lee ran through the gates carrying an unconscious Uchiha in a fireman's carry. Gaara was following him, although it looked like he was gliding rather than running. They both passed Sakura without really noticing her; such was their focus on getting to the hospital. Behind Gaara was a cloud of sand that was carrying her blond-haired teammate.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Naruto's body had healed itself in record time, a few more minutes and he would have enough chakra to create a few clones. Such was one of the benefits to being the container of the Kyuubi. Hey, there had to be some perks to balance the bad out, right?

His eyes opened and he scanned the hospital room. The only other occupant was Garaa who was staring unblinkingly at him. Naruto almost jumped out of his skin. "Greetings Uzumaki Naruto."

"Greetings – I mean, hey Garaa, nice to see you, wat'cha doing here?" asked Naruto before he took a better look around at his surroundings. "And where's the bastard?"

"I do not know to which 'bastard', you are referring to, but I am here to protect you while you sleep."

Naruto blinked before a small smile spread across his face. "Uh, oh, thanks. It's kind of you to give up sleep just to keep me safe-"

"I don't sleep."

"…oh. Still, thanks." Naruto turned his nose up into the air and took a sniff. "It smells like Konoha." Naruto looked at Garaa in bewilderment, "What do I need protection from in _Konoha_?"

"Assassins." Garaa turned his gaze outside for a moment.

"Wha? Assassins? What assassins?" There was a scream followed by a squelching sound. Some red liquid dotted the window.

Garaa turned his gaze back to Naruto as the blood began to drip down the outside of the window. "One of those assassins." Naruto's eyes widened.

"Who are they? What do they want with me?"

Garaa blinked for the first time during the conversation, "I do not know who they are. Their headbands are unfamiliar. But one thing is clear Uzumaki Naruto," Garaa frowned slightly, "their mothers want your blood."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sakura was sat at the bed of an unmoving Sasuke. Ino had just told her that Naruto was the one who'd fought Sasuke. But Naruto wouldn't have – couldn't have beaten Sasuke so badly – right? Right?

Kakashi walked into the room and addressed Sakura. "Sakura? I have something to tell you about Naruto. It's an S-ranked secret so you can't tell anyone else. But as his teammate, I think you should know."

"Does this have anything to do with his banishment and Lady Tsunade's abandonment?" Kakashi thought hard about his reply.

"Yes and no Sakura. But Tsunade's abandonment does mean that I can tell you now. You see, twelve years ago when the Kyuubi attacked…"

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**10 Hours Earlier**

Ino tackled Shikamaru into a hug. "He's going to be alright! Chouji's going to be alright!"

Shikamaru, after being released from the embrace, let out a long sigh of relief and slid down the wall to sit (slump) on the floor.

"Hey, who was he fighting that put him into such a state?" Asked Ino.

Shikamaru crossed his legs, uncaring of the fact that the nurses were giving him funny looks for sitting on the floor when there was an empty chair right next to him. "Some big guy called Jirobo."

Ino put a hand on her hip and sent an irritated gaze down upon her teammate. "Details Shikamaru, details."

"Uh, he could manipulate the Earth to trap us while he absorbed our chakra, but other than that I wouldn't know. I didn't fight him."

"Oh, who did you fight then, if it was one on one fights, who fought who?"

"Ino, this is troublesome, besides I don't think I'm supposed to tell-" Ino kicked him. "Fine, I fought some wench named Tayuya, Kiba had to fight this weirdo with two heads, Neji decided to take on this guy with eight arms and Naruto engaged Sasuke. Happy? Good, now leave me in peace woman."

Ino kicked him again before skipping off to find Sakura and share the gossip. In the background Chouza Akimichi bear hugged Inoichi and Shikaku at the same time and began to spin them around in glee.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Danzo was blissfully happy with this opportunity. The chance to end such a dark chapter of Konoha's history was upon him, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.

Uzumaki had been allowed too many freedoms and was now out of control, his control (Konoha's control). A weapon that had the potential to be so powerful being out of his control (Konoha's control) was simply unacceptable. The tool had to be discarded before it started doing too many things on its own. He couldn't let Uzumaki grow up to become Hokage and take his life's work away from him could he? No! That's why he had to die before he started changing the minds of the villagers.

Danzo called an emergency council meeting, but with the Akimichi clan head at hospital with his son, and the Aburame clan head out on a training trip, the only other great clan head left was Hiashi. Plus, the Hokage and her assistant were battling to save the lives of a few Genin so she wouldn't be here to stop him.

With Naruto's ninja support in the council stripped away, the only one who would even attempt to oppose the assassination order was the civilian elder Yoshida Kenta, but he would be a bit busy for the next few hours, what with his business going up in flames and all.

In the back of his mind Danzo hoped Yoshida would get back on his feet soon. The fat man controlled a good percentage of Konoha's marketplace after all.

As Danzo entered the council chambers and took in the righteous fury on the faces of the people sitting restlessly in their seats, he couldn't help but smile. Today was going to be a good day for him… _and_ for Konoha.

Too bad for him that Homura and Koharu didn't notice the meek wall flower by the name of Hyuuga Hinata who was listening to them plan the execution of one Uzumaki Naruto. Maybe then Shukaku's red haired host wouldn't have met Konoha ANBU's strike force with a wave of sand and a maniacal smile.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Naruto didn't really understand what was going on except that he, Granny Tsunade, Shizune, Hinata and the Sand Siblings were hauling ass out of Konoha. Naruto thought they were just trying to escape the (bad) ANBU, but that didn't make much sense, couldn't Granny just crush them? "Oi, Granny Tsunade, what's going on? Why are we leaving Konoha? What's with all the bags and scrolls?"

Tsunade ignored him, her eyes were hard. She punched a tree as she ran past, turning it into not much more than saw-dust. She increased her speed and ran further ahead. Shizune answered him, "Because, Naruto, you've been banished."

"…WHAT?"

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke knew something was wrong when he woke up and saw the white ceiling of a hospital room. When Sakura screamed into his ear, "Sasuke! You're awake! I was so _worried_!" he decided it would be better if he just went back to sleep.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

When Shino returned with his father to Konoha, he knew something was wrong. It was not something he could pinpoint. He frowned and made his way towards Team 8's regular training field.

After finding it deserted he headed towards the Hokage tower. He instantly became alert when he saw it was crawling, scratch that, swarming, no, well, there were Genin everywhere, some had clipboards, and most were just trying to look busy. Shino frowned again, _such lazyness_. When walking into the tower he was forced to step over an upturned plant.

Yamanaka Ino waved at him and ran over, "Hey Shino, Where've you been?"

Shino ignored the question and took another silent scan of the reception. There was a hole in the wall and a landscape painting was being removed from the pile of rubble in one of the corners.

Ino was not used to being ignored and stomped her foot. "Hey, I asked you a-"

"I heard you Miss Yamanaka. I was on a training mission with my father to construct a second colony of Kikai beetles to bolster the strength of my allies and my immune system. Now, would you mind informing me of what has occurred while I was away?"

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"…So then Lady Tsunade just went ballistic and trashed the place, I think she was totally wasted, I mean, more so than usual, and that's saying something, I mean, I heard from Sakura who heard it from Shikamaru, that this one time she was so smashed that she tried to seduce-"

"Miss Yamanaka," Shino interrupted, "could you tell me what happened after she damaged the Hokage tower?" Seeing Ino's glare he remembered who he was speaking to. "Please."

"Well after that ANBU arrived, but they really didn't want to mix it up with a drunk Sanin in the middle of the village." Ino took a breath and looked around covertly, seemingly to check if anyone was eavesdropping. Satisfied she leaned in towards Shino and continued, "This isn't common knowledge, but I heard Daddy tell Mommy that Uncle Chouza told him that Lady Tsunade stole the scroll of seals and then abandoned the village."

Ino could see Shino's eyebrows rise above his glasses.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

**A/N **So this is chapter one of my take on the 'Missing Hokage' challenge put forward by Perfect Lionheart. Look for the chapter update next week!


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Missing Hokage – Diverging Paths**_

Naruto clutched the scroll of seals like a child clutches a teddy bear. "You can't just do that!" He yelled. Gaara and Temari were watching the confrontation with poorly disguised interest while Kankuro simply tried to ignore everything around him.

"I'm the Hokage! I can do whatever I damn well please, brat!" Tsunade stomped over to Naruto who backed away. "Now give me that back!"

"No! This belongs in the village and we're taking it back right now!" Tsunade jumped at him and grabbed him by the jacket. He burst into smoke.

"Damnit Naruto! We're not going back to the village no matter what reasons or excuses you come up with!"

Naruto appeared from behind a tree still cradling the scroll. A pout appeared on his lips. "I wanna hold the scroll if we're not returning it to the village."

Tsunade sucked in a breath and with Herculean effort she stopped herself from clobbering her fellow blond.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Tenten was in charge of the clipboard, it was her job to tick off the inventory of what was left in the Konoha museum. Lee was dragging his feet along behind her. He was really upset to hear that his friend Naruto was actually the Kyuubi reincarnated. It seemed he was having trouble accepting it even though most of the village elders were yelling it at anyone who would listen.

She thought it might have been callous of her, but she didn't really care either way; Naruto was Naruto, just because he used to be a nine-tailed demon didn't mean he wasn't a loudmouth Genin with a lucky streak that never seemed to end. Besides, she was more devastated that her hero, Tsunade, left the village than that one of her team mate's closest friends was a demon in human form.

She didn't mind this D-ranked mission she had been assigned by Gai. The museum had all the coolest old weapons. Such as Arith's staff, a blue pole with silver weights at the ends, supposedly, it helps one manipulate water chakra, check, it was there.

"Oh!" Tenten exclaimed. She didn't know the curator of the museum had finished restoring Okuni's umbrella! It was white, pink and hid enough weapons to make the standard hidden rain battle umbrella seem like nothing more than a fashion accessory. Tenten loved the perfect combination of pretty and deadly. She sighed and turned away, check, it was there.

The sword of Death, check, it was there.

The sword of Life, check, it was there.

The sword of Love, check, it was there.

Hell's chakrams, check, they were there.

Tenten sighed again as she heard Lee play with the chakrams. "Lee, stop messing around with the priceless artefacts." Tenten moved to the next item on the list. The Second Hokage's lightning blade. Tenten screamed, it was gone! Lady Tsunade stole the lightning blade! She felt a little faint; Lee came over and held her up. "This is a disaster."

"It'll be okay Tenten." Lee tried to reassure her and began to look for a paper bag to stop her from hyperventilating.

"No, I don't think it will. Come on Lee, let's find out what else they took."

They walked past the Third Hokage's Diamond tipped staff. Tenten ticked the box. Her thoughts were racing as they reached the next display. Not only had Lady Tsunade injured Konoha shinobi and damaged property, but it seemed she had also taken legendary relics outside of the village. Tenten was pretty certain that she didn't get permission, either.

The truth struck Tenten in the face, even if Lady Tsunade wanted to return, she wouldn't be able to.

She reached the Forth Hokage's three pronged kunai. Her pen moved to tick them off, che-. The display case was empty. She fainted right then and there. Lee panicked and tried to give her CPR. She woke up choking and Lee was rewarded with a slap to the face.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Somewhere on the road to Suna, Temari was removing dirt from her fingernails with a nifty looking kunai with three blades. Lady Tsunade was such a nice person for giving it to her as a goodbye gift.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru strolled into his best friend's hospital room. "Hey Chouji." Shikamaru inwardly shivered at how unnaturally thin Chouji looked. He once again regretted leaving Chouji to fight alone. In his pockets his fists clenched and he considered going to watch Jirobo's interrogation. Although any thoughts of leaving were dashed when he saw Chouji's face light up at his greeting.

"Hey Shikamaru." He sat down next to the bed and took Chouji's hand, like he did whenever they were alone.

"I have an update from Ino on the Tsunade situation."

Chouji squeezed his hand weakly. Chouji refused to believe their childhood friend was the Kyuubi, and if Chouji didn't believe it then that was good enough for Shikamaru, despite anything the elders said. But their friend's banishment really upset him, and when something upset Chouji, Shikamaru's first reaction was to make it better, even if it was troublesome. But as smart as he was he couldn't see things ending well for Lady Hokage or their short blond friend if politics within the village didn't change.

"They took the Hokage's ceremonial robes with them. Without them, the council can't declare another permanent Hokage."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

The masked ANBU's katana ripped through Naruto's chest and for a moment, Hinata's heart stopped beating. Then the clone burst into smoke and Tsunade put her hand through the ANBU's ribcage.

It was all Shizune could do to hold off one of the elete shinobi until Tsunade rescued her. Hinata and Naruto were running and using the substitution Jutsu continuously to evade the ninja after them. They were only still alive because the ANBU after them were busy fending off attacks from Tsunade and her slug summons, and so couldn't focus their full attention on the Genin.

The squad leader after seeing one of her own fall to Tsunade's fists, called for a retreat and used Shunshin to make her escape. Only like so many others that came before her over the years, she made the mistake of underestimating the former Hokage.

The buxom blonde grabbed her out of Shunshin and sent a chakra empowered bitch slap smacking her face first into a tree. The other two ANBU managed to escape Tsunade's wrath.

Standing over the fallen ANBU with a smug smile Tsunade said, "Yuuago, it's so nice to see you."

Yuuago groaned.

Tsunade took the ANBU's mask off. "Hey! I Know her!"

"Who is she N-Naruto?" Inquired Hinata.

"She lived in the same apartment block as me for a while. She _really_ didn't like me."

Tsunade rifled around in the woman's pockets, ignoring her feeble protests, and fished out a big bag of shuriken. They were painted purple. Tsunade tossed the bag over her shoulder to Hinata who pocketed them.

The search revealed one copy of _Icha Icha: Yaoi Paradise_, which Tsunade hid in her duffle bag before the others could see, and two sealing scrolls. Lastly was the necklace Yuuago wore around her neck. The thin chain looked like gold and the pendent was in an oval shape with a smooth, light blue gem inside the frame. It looked valuable to Tsunade so she took it to be pawned.

Team Hokage was going to have financial troubles soon if they couldn't find a source of income. Tsunade would have liked to have taken a good chunk of the village treasury when they left. Sadly, the bank couldn't let her withdraw such a large amount of hard currency without a full council sanction. But she was able to arrange for all of her debts to be paid back in full immediately, instead of monthly instalments.

Yuuago weakly called out, "No," as she tried to reach out for the pendent. Tsunade swatted her hand away and gave the necklace to Shizune.

"Alright, we need to be out of the area before the next team shows up. The next squad leader in the ANBU rotation is a wood user. I won't be able to guarantee your safety from him should we fight in a forest so close to Konoha."

Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion, "But Granny Tsunade, you're the strongest ninja alive!" he said with conviction. Hinata and Tsunade both smiled fondly.

"Well, Naruto," Shizune began but Tsunade cut her off.

"This ANBU's special ability lets him create wood and trees as well as manipulate the forest around him. As a Sannin, he may not offer a large threat to me, but he is capable of attacking multiple targets at once without losing combat proficiency. And that's not counting the other ANBU on his team."

"Huh? I still don't understand. Why can't you kick his ass then go after his team? Like you did the last time."

Tsunade sighed. "While I'm '_kicking his ass'_, he'll _still_ be able to kick _yours_. So let's _go_."

"My pendent…"

The four missing-nin leapt onto the treetops and continued on their way to Rain country.

The nation was in a civil war and if Konoha shinobi were seen to be getting involved then it could spark an international incident. But Hinata believed that causing an international scene was exactly what Tsunade wanted to do. Suddenly she wasn't feeling as confident about leaving the village and the shelter of her clan.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro was bored and irritable. Most people wouldn't be able to tell Kankuro's emotions behind the almost constant scowl and all of the obscuring face paint. But Temari wasn't most people, and she knew he was annoyed. If the screams of Konoha ANBU had woken her up during the few times they'd been able to rest, she would have been annoyed too. Poor Kankuro, he hadn't been able to get any beauty sleep in days.

The hiss of the senbon leaving the launcher on Karasu sounded behind her and the elete shinobi that was about to attack Garaa with a water Jutsu was forced to dodge.

The three-pronged kunai in Temari's hand hummed. She spun on the spot quickly and bashed an ANBU's head with her fan. He crumpled to the floor.

Temari stared at the kunai in wonder; she hadn't even sensed that ninja, she had just acted. It was like the kunai knew when an enemy was near; it was like it had a mind of its own…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Chouza's eyes were hard and serious as he regarded the other two great clan heads. He had left his son alone to rest in order to meet privately with Shibi and Hiashi regarding recent events.

"You fucking brownnoser!" Lord Akimichi yelled, some spittle flew from his mouth and landed on Hiashi's clean robes.

The Hyuuga's lip curled in disgust. "I did what I did for the good of the Hyuuga… _and_ for Konoha."

Shibi rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses but he knew Hiashi had seen from the indignant glare that was thrown his way.

Lord Hyuuga drew a breath. "Uzumaki Naruto was an abomination that shouldn't have been allowed to live past its first birthday." Shibi frowned and Chouza couldn't seem to find the right words to express his rage. "I'm proud to have helped remove that stain on Konoha's honour."

"So you and the _council_ **schemed** to kill Uzumaki while the Hokage was away! I should crush your balls like grapes, you devious little _wart_!" Shibi was slightly worried that Chouza would start foaming at the mouth any second now. If Shibi was reading the Akimichi head right, then Chouza was probably already thinking up excuses to call in some blood feuds.

An Akimichi rebellion would be very, very bad.

"Perhaps the wrong brother was sacrificed to Kumo. Hizashi would never have been so deceitful. If only because he was too stupid to show initiative." said Chouza with a sneer and a sparkle of insanity in his eyes. Shibi felt a small shiver go down his spine and Hiashi activated his Byakugan. No one insulted Hiashi's late twin brother in front of him.

Hiashi's comeback was aimed at Chouza's eating habits. Whenever Hiashi got dragged into an exchanging of slurs, it was a sure sign that things were about to spiral out of control.

Although Chouza was literally spitting with rage, Shibi himself was only slightly irritated at being left out of the meeting that ended in the execution order of Uzumaki Naruto. But if Shibi was being honest with himself, even had he been in the meeting he would have done nothing to prevent the order.

His first priority was to his clan, and he wouldn't have alienated so many people by defending Naruto. Although if the Hokage had been at the meeting he wouldn't have had to defend Naruto.

Shibi had better find a way to silence Hiashi, the argument had strayed into dangerous territory, the _real_ nature of Chouji's relationship with the Nara boy was being questioned. It was definitely something of sore point to Chouza. Hiashi really should stop talking before Chouza gets angry enough to grab his head and slam it into a wall.

It doesn't matter how good you are at the _Gentle-fist_ if you can't get around the fat to hit the tenketsu. Inside Shibi chuckled, one doesn't _hurt _an Akimichi at all unless one finds a way around the fat.

Chouza eyed him for a moment before going back to the argument with Hiashi. Behind his sunglasses Shibi stared at Chouza, _**FAT! **_Chouza didn't blink, maybe he wasn't psychic after all.

Shibi sighed, he almost couldn't believe he was about to think this, but he missed Fugaku at times like these. Fugaku was the leader of the Uchiha clan, who died at the hands of his of his eldest son. Just like every other Uchiha (except Sasuke).

Fugaku would have ended this conversation before it even got a chance to begin. He didn't suffer swear words around his person. He was always proper, and a strong fan of strict manners.

But with him gone, so went the peace.

When it came to the great clans of the Fire country before the founding of Konoha, things had gone like this: The Aburame could defeat the Akimichi, with the Kikai's ability to eat chakra, the Akimichi had no counter.

The Akimichi could crush the Hyuuga, one _Multi-size_ technique and the _Gentle-fist_ style becomes instantly useless when tenketsu become bigger than an average head.

Finally the Hyuuga could beat the Aburame, the Kikai wouldn't even get close to a Hyuuga before those nimble fingers took them out.

But the Sharingan could defeat everyone.

So _everybody_ would listen to what the Uchiha had to say, else they discover themselves under the disappointed gaze powered by Genjutsu throwing eyeballs.

"It's _really_ a **shame** Chouji won't be giving you any grandchildren, it is too bad that the main Akimichi bloodline ends with that disgraceful excuse for a ninja."

Shibi didn't want to get involved but he decided he had to if he was to save Hiashi's life. And they hadn't even gotten to what they actually came to meet about, what to do about Lady Tsunade and the Forth Kazekage's children. Little did they know that the civilian council had already made a decision and had given an order without them.

Send in the ANBU.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

_**A/N**_ Thank you to everyone who added this story to their alerts and/or favorites. Chapter 3 will be out next week. See you then.


	3. Chapter 3

"Fuck **You**, Assholes!"

Jirobo shivered in his cell. It had been a few days since the interrogations began. He and Tayuya were now officially the only survivors of the Sound Five. He heard Tayuya scream in pain and another tear rolled down his cheek. He wished she would stop angering them, and he wished they would stop hurting her.

Jirobo was no stranger to physical pain, he was a servant to Orochimaru after all and before that he was an orphan living in water country. When the scarred man had tortured him, he had barely cried out at all, something Jirobo was privately proud about.

But Tayuya didn't have such a freakishly high pain tolerance. Now her screams were hurting him in a way he had never felt before.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and wept to the sound of Tayuya's pain filled cries. Where was Lord Orochimaru? Wouldn't he come to save them again?

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Kakashi made his way towards the hospital. Many had expressed condolences for what had come of his team. He just smiled with his eye and thanked them for their sympathy.

"Kakashi! My Great Rival! How Are You On This Fine Day?" Asked Gai Maito when they crossed paths in front of the hospital.

"I'm doing well, thank you. How is Neji?"

Gai gave him a brilliant white smile. "His youth has taken a beating but in time he will be Fighting Fit!" Gai paused for a moment before smiling again. "And how is Sasuke? I'm told he has woken up."

"He is as well as can be expected after fighting a couple of demons."

Gai frowned. "Kakashi, you know that isn't true."

The other Jonin shrugged before walking into the hospital, leaving Gai outside.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"Sasuke! You should stay in bed! You need rest!" Shrieked Sakura.

"Sakura, shut up." Replied Sasuke as he attached his kunai holster.

"But Sasuke!"

"Sakura! You just told me the village is trying to kill Naruto for being the Kyuubi. That's completely ridiculous! Only fools could think that loser could be anything more than a loser."

Sasuke opened the window to jump out. "Everyone is saying it though. It was like a big secret that was being kept by the Third Hokage."

"Well everyone is a fool then Sakura." He turned to look at her. "You're not a fool, are you?"

"No Sasuke!" She stated while snapping to attention.

"Good." He jumped out of the window.

Sasuke needed to get Orochimaru to train him; it was the only way he was going to get strong enough to protect his teammates from the insanity that gripped the Leaf village and defeat his brother. _Itachi… _His rapid descent down the side of the hospital made his clothes and hair billow.

Sakura stood there staring for a few moments before following Sasuke.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Kabuto glared at Sasuke's empty hospital room. The treacherous Sound ninja needed to get Sasuke to Lord Orochimaru soon. Without the proper 'maintenance' the curse seal would stop influencing his mind and Sasuke would break free from his Lord's control. That was unacceptable.

Kabuto didn't know how long he could keep up this _Transformation_ either. He was beginning to run low on chakra.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Kakashi stared up at Orochimaru impassively as the snake like man licked his lips. He was restrained to a table somewhere deep within one of the Sannin's secret laboratories.

Orochimaru pulled a knife. "So let's start with something simple. What is Sasuke's favorite color?"

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Iruka was sat in his bedroom rubbing the scar across his nose as he brooded.

Iruka Umino had been a teacher for years. Being an academy teacher was considered a stepping stone to getting the necessary administration experience required for taking the Jonin exam or entering ANBU.

That usually lasted a year at the most, but Iruka had chosen to stay a teacher rather than to advance through the ranks. But right now he wished he could command the respect that came with the Jonin rank.

Maybe if he had been a Jonin he could've swayed the banishment order into Naruto's favor, or at least repeal the execution order.

After Garaa Sabaku had crushed an entire team of root ANBU and had engaged an additional three teams of regular ANBU, the majority of the Jonin had issued a banishment order for all Jinchurikki under the pretence of the danger they represented.

Now Iruka's little brother was being hunted like a criminal for something he had no control over. The teacher frowned, he was willing to die to protect his students and even though that bastard Kakashi would say differently, Naruto was still one of his students, and Iruka had to protect him.

Iruka's blood pressure increased at the thought of Kakashi. Iruka knew he was one of the Jonin to vote in favor of the extermination of Jinchurikki rather than the banishment.

How dare he? Iruka decided he would give the copy ninja a piece of his mind and a kunai up the rectum.

On the way he saw several messenger eagles flying overhead. From the whispered conversations around him it seemed Sasuke Uchiha had been 'kidnapped' again. This time by Sakura Haruno.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

One benefit of trying to abandon your ninja village a mere week ago means that you are already packed and ready to try a second time. How nice of these civilian doctors to simply hand over his scrolls as soon as he asked.

They didn't seem to question why he was out of bed. He was Sasuke Uchiha: Demigod. The usual medical recovery times and rules of society didn't apply to him.

After a couple of Chunin greeted him with smiles and handshakes he began to wonder what was going on. Shouldn't that have ended with violence?

Sakura jumped out of her bedroom window and landed next to Sasuke. She was carrying a duffle bag.

"Ready!" She chirped.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. They set off running along the rooftops.

After they passed Shino without incident Sasuke asked Sakura why everyone was just letting them pass. "Why wouldn't they Sasuke? You were kidnapped and then Naruto viciously assaulted you."

Sasuke blinked. That's not how he remembered it happening.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Team Hokage consisting of Tsunade, Shizune, Hinata, Naruto and Ton Ton strolled into the border town on the edge of rain country, and while Tenzo could technically reach this town in a day and a half at full speed, Tsunade knew he wouldn't have the stamina left to take her on with any realistic chance at victory.

So Tsunade felt now would be a good time to start training the brats. Naruto, the continuous ball of energy readily agreed. That was until Tsunade assigned him Chakra control exercises. She wanted him to make a Rasengan one-handed, and to do this he would need to improve his ability to mould Chakra drastically; which meant he would be doing a lot of meditation, much to his dismay.

Hinata had already begun learning the theory for some medical techniques before they had left Konoha so she was already ahead of Naruto in that area. Additionally, she had near perfect chakra control thanks to one of the passive abilities of her bloodline. Tsunade predicted that it wouldn't take too long to teach her the Chakra Scalpel and the Mystic Palm.

But until Hinata had perfect Chakra control, she would be stuck meditating.

The Sannin had only planned to stay in the town for a couple of days to stock up on their dwindling supplies. (To get some gambling time in.) So she sent the Genin off to meditate somewhere while she searched for the nearest casino.

Unfortunately, she had underestimated both Tenzo's stamina, and the civilian council's willingness to give the ANBU some orders while the village was without a Hokage.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

"N-Naruto…?" Hinata was walking to the side and slightly behind Naruto.

"What's up Hinata?" He looked over at her.

"I-I have s-something to s-say."

Naruto stopped in the middle of the road and smiled encouragingly at her. She went red at being the center of his attention.

"Would you, I-I mean, I-if you want to, like to go out with-"

"Naruto Uzumaki." Hinata hung her head in defeat as a Konoha ANBU made his presence known. "By order of the civilian provisional council, you are to be returned to Konoha for your court marshal and subsequent execution."

There was a pause.

"Resistance is futile."

Naruto blinked. "Does Granny Tsunade know about this?"

"Lady Hokage has her own court marshal to attend." replied the ANBU.

Hinata activated her Byakugan in time to see the attack coming. She pushed Naruto one way while she jumped the other.

A wooden cage appeared where they had been standing.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Shizune was buying fruit when Ton Ton let out a warning oink. "I know Ton Ton, I can sense her too." She put her companion on the ground and accepted the groceries before calmly walking away.

Halfway down the street she turned into a side alley and put her fruit down. Moments later she locked kunai with an ANBU. "Hi Shizune!"

"Hello Anko."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade narrowed her eyes on the men in front of her. They were all big, burly and mean looking, plus more than one was leering at her without having a full set of yellow teeth. Were these unwashed fools trying to bluff her? She smirked. "I call it."

One of the men opposite her winced as the cards were shown. _He_ was bluffing.

"Full house!" She exclaimed. There was silence in the gambling hall. "I won! I actually won! YES-" Dozens of kunai with exploding tags attached to them smashed through the windows on all sides of the club. "Noooooo!" The bar exploded.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Tenzo eyed the Hyuuga heiress warily. According to the information given to him by Hiashi, she should have been near useless in a fight. But she had helped Uzumaki escape immediate capture.

Clones popped into existence all around him and although he was impressed by the amount, a few hundred Genin level clones would never be able to beat him, even if it might be enough to defeat any other elite Jonin.

Most of the clones took out a stack of exploding tags and looked at them with thoughtful expressions. He sensed the Hyuuga's chakra signature running away. Those thoughtful expressions became devious.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Anko's boot met Shizune's nose and the medic was thrown onto her back. It was clear to Anko that Shizune was in over her head. It seemed her entire battle strategy involved releasing a scentless paralyzing gas when in melee range and then waiting for it to take effect. While Anko was a better hand to hand fighter than Shizune, she wouldn't have been good enough to end the fight quick enough before the poison took effect.

Fortunately for Anko, she had a Jutsu that directed poisons in her system to underneath her fingernails to use as a weapon without causing any internal damage to herself. She had already scratched Shizune but it seemed the medic had immunity to her own poison.

Shizune blocked a punch and counter attacked.

Of course Anko could have ended the fight quicker with the use of some offensive Jutsu, but that would use up some of her Chakra, and a fight against Tsunade would require her to have full Chakra reserves if she was to survive.

Anko's boot once again connected to Shizune's nose and this time her head bounced off the alley wall.

Anko threw Shizune's unconscious body over her shoulder and walked casually towards the meeting point. She took to the rooftops in time to see two massive explosions coming from opposite sides of the village.

The explosion at the gambling hall was expected but the other one? What was Tenzo playing at?

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Only instinct saved Tenzo when he substituted himself with a garden statue just in time for it to be blasted to bits. After half a minute of constant explosive bombardment Tenzo decided to take the fight up to his level.

The concrete around him cracked and shuddered as an entire root system ripped itself out of the floor to come to his defense. Explosions rippled all around him when tagged kunai were intercepted by small trees.

Using the time his defensives bought him he created two wood clones. One he sent off towards the gambling hall while the other made hand-signs for an offensive Jutsu.

With two Tenzo's controlling the Mokuton, Naruto's clones were being dispelled at a rapid pace. In less than a minute all the clones had been dispelled, but there was no sign of Naruto.

A huge shadow loomed over Tenzo and a VERY loud and deep chuckle filled the air. Slightly turning his head so he could see behind him he came face to face with the mirth filled eyes of Gamabunta, the Lord of the Toads.

"Hello little human."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Genma jumped down next to where another ANBU was sat watching the gambling hall collapse. Both men sighed in relief as they felt Tsunade's chakra signature flicker out. Genma didn't know what they would have done if the ambush hadn't worked.

Just then a massive chakra appeared behind them. They turned and saw Lord Jiraiya's strongest summon.

Genma's senbon dropped out of his mouth before a scowl crossed his face, the council hadn't briefed them that Jiraiya was with the targets. "Eagle, Tenzo is going to need assistance lets-." Genma was interrupted by the ominous sound of some loose rocks falling from the rubble of the gambling hall. One small white slug shuffled from underneath the debris. Then another, and another, until dozens of slugs were slowly making their way towards the two ANBU.

"Genma," came Tsunade's 'I will crush your face' voice. "Forget about Tenzo. You have your own problems." She stated as the rubble exploded outwards and it rained slugs.


End file.
